Animal pelt processing machine



March 21, 1961 H. v. PALMER ETAL ANIMAL PELT PROCESSING MACHINE FiledJune 30, 1958 ANIMAL PELT PROCESSING MACHINE Harvey V. Palmer, R.F.D. 5,Box 430, McHenry, 11]., and

rlfifbert 'H. Palmer, :1728 W. Ainslie St., Chicago 40,

Filed June 30, 1958, Ser. No. 745,639

11 Claims. (01. 69-46) This invention relates to the art of scrapinganimal pelts and more specifically to a novel device for mounting a peltin relation to a scraping device which is positioned to move along thepelt.

A general object of the invention is to devise a novel fleshing.apparatus which incorporates a support fol-mounting an inverted animalpelt, the device including a traverse guide which movably carries afleshing tool having a blade readily adjustable with respect to itsangle of incidence to the pelt and which requires simple manualoperation to engage and disengage the tool with respect to the pelt andmove it along the pelt.

vThese and other objects of the invention will become 'readily apparentfrom the specification and the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 isa plan view of thenovel fleshing apparatus; Figure 2 is anenlarged cross-sectional view taken essentially on line 22 of Figurel;and

Figure 3 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken approximately online 3-'3 of Figure 2 Describing the invention in detail, there is showna frame or support .structure generally indicated 1 which includes apair of end members or standards 2 and 3 having bases '4 and 5 formounting on an associated wall 6.

The standards 2 and 3 have outer end portions 7 and 8, respectively, towhich is connected a traverse or guide bar 9 extending generallyhorizontally therebetween.

The bar -9 supports a carrier generally designated 10 for'pivotalmovement about the axis thereof and for longitudinal movement thereon.The carrier 10 comprises a sleeve portion 11 slida-bly and rotatably'telescoped upon the bar 9. The sleeve portion 11 has a flange 12extending outwardly therefrom generally tangentially to the bar 9 andprovides a top mounting surface 13 on which is supported a mountingsaddle 14 which is connected to the casing 15 of the power unit 16.

The saddle mounting pad 17 sits atop the surface 13 and is connected toflange 12 on an axis y transverse to the axis x of the traverse guidebar 9 whereby the power unit 16 is adjustable about the axis y of thebolt 18 which has a shank 19 extending through opening 20 in themounting pad 17, the lower end of the shank 19 being threaded at 21 andscrewed into a threaded opening 22 in flange 12 whereby the bolt 18 maybe loosened by turning the head 23 to unseat it from the top side 24 ofthe pad 17 whereby the unit 16 may be pivoted to any desired positionand locked in place by tightening the bolt.

It will be observed that the prime power unit 16 carried a fieshmg blade26 of the type shown and described in a copendmg U.S. application forpatent in the name of Uniiifid States Patent 0 i 2,975,628 Patented Mar.'21, 1961 ing Pelts, Serial No. 663,441.

The blade 26 has a leading curved portion 27 with a dull fieshing edge28 and has a generally flat trailing portion 29 which connects by bolts30 to a split mounting block 30' which is fastened preferably bythe-same bolts 30 to the reciprocating bolt or output member 31. It willbe noted that inasmuch as the blade is fastened to the unit 16, thatadjustment of the unit about the axes x and y disposes the blade incorresponding position although the blade is adjustable about the axis z(Fig. 3)

about the output member 31 sothat the curvature of the pocket 33 of theblade properly admits the periphery of the hide 34 which is mounted onthe tapered pole 35 positioned generally parallel to the guide member 9.

The pole 35 has provided on its pointed end 36 a depression or aperture37 which admits a spring-loaded pin 38 therein of a releasable holder,the pin 38 extending into a housing 39 and has -an enlarged guide andpositioning portion 40 which slidably and rotatably fits within the bore41 in the housing in peripheral engagement with the surface 42. The pin38 is urged outwardly by a spring 43 compressed between a base 44 in thehousing and opposing side 45 of the portion 40. Outward displacement ofpin 38 is limited by the inturned flange 46 of the housing abutting theguide and positioning portion 40.

The base end 47 of the pole is provided with a pin 48 which fits into anaperture 49 in'the transverse inner end wall 50 of the base holder '51.The pole which is preferably of wood or indentable plastic material ispierced by the sharp axially extending pins 52 'on the wall 50 to securethe pole and base holder against relative rotation.

The base holder 51 has a pair of side walls 53, 54 which interconnectthe inner end wall 50 with the outer end wall 55, the walls 53, 54 beinginterconnected by an intermediate wall 56 which with wall is providedwith coaxial apertures 57, 58 admitting a spindle or pin 60 which issecured to the member 3. Thus the pole and base holder are rotatableabout an axis generally parallel to the bar 9.

The base holder 51 mounts on opposite sides thereof a pair of tensiondevices 61, 62 each of which is spring operated tending to draw thecables 63, 64 into their housings 65, 66 respectively. The outer end ofcable 63 is secured to a spring clamp 66 which is adapted to grasp a paw67 of the pelt and the cable 62 is connected to intermediate the ends ofa whifiletre'e 68, which in turn has its ends connected to short cablelengths 69, 70, the outer ends of which are provided with clamps 69',70'. The clamp 66' grasps the tail extremity 67 and the clamp 69 graspsthe paw extremity 71 and clamp 70' grasps the pew extremity 72 of thepelt.

The tension devices snug the pelt onto the tapered pole, the pelt beinginverted and drawn over the pointed end 74 of the pole so that itassumes generally the conical form of the pole. The base 47 isinterlocked by the locking means 52 with the base holder 51 so thatthere is no relative rotation and the relationship ,of the cableclamping devices to the pelt is maintained so that as the pole and peltare rotated the pelt does not slip around the pole. It will beunderstood that the radial extent of the units 61 and 62 is such thatthey clear the shaft or bar 9 as the pole is rotated.

It is, of course, understood that various changes and modifications maybe made in the details of construction in the foregoing specificallydescribed embodiment of the invention without departing from the spiritthereof and that the invention is to be regarded only as restricted bythe scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a fleshing machine, a support including a pair of laterally spacedstandards, a holder on each standard, a pelt mounting pole extendingbetween said holders, means releasably mounting said pole on respectiveholders, said pole having a base abutting one of the holders, meansreleasably interlocking said base and one holder against relativerotation, a pair of tension devices mounted upon said one holder eachincluding a spring loaded cable, a clamp on one of said cables forclamping one extremity of a pelt mounted upon the pole, a whiffietreeconnected to the other cable, and clamping means on the whifiletree forclamping the other extremities of the animal pelt, said one holderpivotal with the pole with respect to the associated standard.

2. In a pelt fieshing machine, the combination of a support, apelt-mounting pole, means rotatably supporting the pole on said support,and means for snugging a pelt on the pole comprising a plurality oftension devices carried on said means and including means releasablyconnectible to the paws and tail of a pelt.

3. The invention according to claim 2 and interlocking means on saidfirst-mentioned means and the pole for interlocking the same againstrelative rotation, said secondmentioned means when holding the peltreleasably urging said interlocking means into engagement.

4. In a pelt fieshing machine, a support, an elongated pelt pole mountedthereon, a traverse guide on the support generally parallel to the pole,a slide member pivoted on the guide on an axis generally parallel to thepole, a knife-driving unit adjustably mounted on the member foradjustment about an axis transverse to said last-mentioned axis, a saidunit having a reciprocal output member, and a knife mounted on saidmember on an axis angularly related to said first and second mentionedaxes, said blade extending at an acute angle to said pole and having acutting edge proximate to the pole.

5. In a pelt fleshing machine, a support, a pelt pole mounted thereon, atraverse member on the support generally parallel to the pole, amounting element slidably mounted on said member for movement thereonalongside the pole and pivotal movement toward and away with respect tothe pole, a supported structure mounted upon said element on an axistransverse to said element, a cutting unit on the structure including anoutput member, and a cutting element mounted upon the output member andreciprocal thereby generally lengthwise of the pole, said cuttingelement adjustable about an axis angularly related to said axis andchanging its presentation with reference to the pole and an associatedpelt thereon.

6. A fleshing machine, comprising a support, a pelt pole mountedthereon, a traverse bar supported alongside the pole, and a cuttingdevice on said bar movable toward and away with respect to the pole andalongside thereof, raid device having parts relatively adjustable aboutan axis transverse to said bar and having a cutting blade disposed at anacute angle to said pole, and adjustable about an axis disposed at anacute angle to said pole, said blade reciprocal at said angle to saidpole and having a curved leading portion generally concentric to thepole.

7. A fieshing machine including a support structure having a pair ofholders coaxially rotatably mounted thereon, a pole having a pointed endand a wide base end and having an aperture at said pointed end, one ofsaid holders having a spring urged pin extending into the aperture, aplurality of pins on the other holder piercing the base end of the pole,a plurality of tension devices on the other holder for snugging a peltupon the pole by drawing it from said pointed end toward the widenedbase end and holding the pole in engagement with the pins, and a cuttingdevice mounted for transilatory movement upon the support alongside ofsaid pole and having a cutting element reciprocal toward the base of thepole.

8. A fieshing machine having a support, a pelt pole rotatably supportedthereon, traverse means on the support alongside of said pole, a cuttingtool mounted upon the traverse means for swingable movement toward thepole and traverse therealong, said tool including a blade reciprocalgenerally parallel to the pole at a slight acute angle toward one end ofthe pole, means releasably interlocking said pole with the support, andsaid interlocking means comprising a holder rotatably mounted on theysupport and pins on the holder extending in piercing relation to saidpole.

9. A fleshing machine having a support, a pelt pole rotatably supportedthereon, traverse means on the support alongside of said pole, a cuttingtool mounted upon the traverse means for swingable movement toward thepole and traverse therealong, said tool including a blade reciprocalgenerally parallel to the pole at a slight acute angle toward one end ofthe pole, means releasably interlocking said pole with the support, andmeans including pins on said interlocking means engaging the pole andspring loaded cable means with clips for clamping the extremities of apelt on the pole and drawing the interlocking means into engagement withthe pole.

10. The combination of a support, a pole for mounting a pelt to befleshed, means releasably mounting said pole on the support, and peltholding means operatively connected to said means and operative to urgesaid pole into interlocking engagement with said means while holding anassociated pelt upon said pole.

11. The invention according to claim 10 and said pelt holding meanscomprising tension means stretched between said first-mentioned meansand the pelt, and said pole and first-mentioned means including axiallytelescoping parts held in engagement by said tension means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,896,438 Larsson July 28, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 91,375 Norway Apr. 8,1958

